Article clip



Oct. 27, 1959 H. M. RUTH 2,909,820

ARTICLE CLIP Filed May 21 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 1 F1Ei 1 a2 33 INVENTORHAROLD M. RUTH BY &4

ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1959 H. M. RUTH 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HAROLD M.RUTH ATTORNEY H. M. RUTH ARTICLE CLIP Oct. 27, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed May 21, 1953 INVENTOR HAROLD M. RUTH ATTORNEY United States PatentC) ARTICLE CLIP Harold M. Ruth, San Jose, Calif assignor to FoodMachinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation ofDelaware Application May 21, 1953, Serial No. 356,522

Claims. (Cl. 24-81) requirements, and lack of ready adaptability to avariety of can groupings, both in quantity of cans and arrangementthereof. I

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved clip forfastening together cans and the like, which-can be used to bundle groupsof cans together and is not possessed of the undesirable characteristicsmentioned above.

Another object of the present invention is toprovide a .clip for easilyand quickly fastening together articles having a peripheral bead.

Another object is to provide a clip for fastening together peripherallybeaded articles which may be easily and readily removed from its articlefastening position.

Another object is to provide a clip which can be used to fasten togetherperipherally beaded articles in a compact group.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description, and the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the clip of the presentinvention is made.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of an article clip formed from the blank shown-inFig. 1.

' Fig. '3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a pair of cans heldtogether by the clip shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a reduced side view of a pair of cans held together by a pairof clips like that shown in Fig. 2, certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 5 is a reduced fragmentary section of a can and clip taken alongthe line 55 of Fig. 3, and showing in addition a clencher for applyingthe clip to the cans.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately along theline 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a plan view'of the blank from which a modified clip is made.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a nest of four cans held togetherby the modified clip formed from the blank shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 9-9 ofFig. 8.

Figs. 10 and 11 are fragmentary sections taken along the line 1010 ofFig. 8, showing the modified clip in different positions during itsapplication to a nest of four cans by a clencher.

Fig. 12 is a reduced perspective view of a nest of four cans heldtogether by a pair of the modified clips, the cans being shown inphantom.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the clencher usedto apply the modified clip to a nest of cans.

The present article clip 21 (Fig. 2) is preferably formed from a blank22 (Fig. l) of thin, stiff, deformable material, such as sheet steel,and is specifically desined for fastening together cylindrical articles,such as cans 23, 24 (Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive) of the type in whichcomestibles are commercially preserved. Each of the cans 23 and 24 isusually made of metal and comprises a hollow cylindrical body 26 and apair of end closures 27 (Fig. 3) only one of which is shown. Theclosures 27 are hermetically sealed to the can body 26 by can seamingmachines which fold together the adjacent edge portions of the body andthe closures thereby forming an annular, peripheral bead 28 .(Fig. 4)around both end margins of the can. Said beads 28 extend axially awayfrom the end of the can and also radially outward from the can body 26,as best seenin Fig. 6, and are usually approximately ellipticalincross-section.

The clip 21 (Fig. 2) is fashioned from the 'blank 2 2 (Fig. l) bybending .down the side portions 29 and 31 of the blank body 32 along thecurved dotted lines" 33 and 34 until the side portions are atapproximately right angles with the blank body, thereby forming asomewhat hourglassshaped web (Fig. 3) from the opposite sides of whichsaid side portions 29, 31 depend as longitudinally and oppositely curveddownwardly projecting flanges 37 and 38. From the ends of the blank body32 (Fig. I) extend tabs 39 and 41 each lateral edge of which is providedadjacent the body 32 with a curved notch 42 which furnishes an arcuateshoulder 43 spaced from the blank body 32. In forming the clip 21 thetabs 39 e and 41 are bent down approximately forty-five degrees alongthe dotted lines 44 and 46, respectively, and are bent up approximatelyforty-five degrees along the dotted lines 47 and 48, thereby providingthe tabs with a downwardly inclined inner portion 49 (Fig. 2) and alongitudinally extending outer portion 51. p

The clip 21 is adapted to be applied to laterally adjacent cans eithermanually or by machine. In both cases the procedure is the same. Twocans 23 and 24 (Fig; 3) are arranged side by side with the beads 28 onthe neighboring ends of said cans tangent' to each other. The clip 21 isthen placed over the beads 28 at one end'of the cans 23 and 24 adjacenttheir point of tangency, with the curved flanges 37 and 38 .contactingand closely overlying the similarly curved inner periphery of the beads28, and thetabs 39 and 41 extending outwardly from the cans in oppositedirections.

The inner portion 49 (Fig. 3) of the tabs 39' and 41 is then bentdownwardly and inwardly between the converging body portions 26 of thecans 23 and 24 until it is substantially perpendicular with the Web 36.This movement of the tab portions 49 may be accomplished manually bydepressing the outer tab portions 51 whereby the tabs will bend almostexclusively along the bend lines 44; and 46 (Fig. 1) due to the reducedcross sectional area of the tab along those lines and due to the factthat the moment of the tab depressing force at these lines is greaterthan at any other portion of the tab. This bending of the inner portions49 of the tabs 39 and 41 may also be achieved by means of a clencher 52(Fig. '5). Said clencher may either be incorporated in a machine adaptedto perform automatically the entire clip applying operation or it may beused as a hand tool to aid in the manual application of the clip. Theclencher 52 comprises a plate 53 to one side of which an actuatingmember 54, only part ofwhich is shown, is centrally attached. A pair ofpins 56 and 57 extend normally from the op' posite side of the plate 53and are so arranged thereon that the clencher may be initially placedabove the clip with the pins resting on the inner portion 49 of the tabs39 and 41. Movement of the clencher 52 from this position toward thecans 23 and 24 will quickly turn down the inner tab portions 49 into aposition perpendicular with the web 36, as shown in Fig. 5. The pins 56and 57 may also be spaced so as to contact the outer tab portions 51whereby upon movement of the clencher toward the cans the inner tabportions 49 will be bent perpendicular to the Web 36 in the mannerpreviously described in connection with the depression of the tabs 39and 41.

As the inner portion 49 of the tabs 39 and 41 is depressed theoppositely arranged shoulders 43 (Figs. 2 and 6) thereon closely followthe curved outer periphery of the can beads 28 and when the inner tabportion 49 reaches its final position, perpendicular to the web 36, theshoulders 43 closely underlie he adjacent can beads With the inner tabportion 49 in this position the adjacent beads at the selected end ofthe cans 23 and 24- are clamped between the tab shoulders 43 and theflanges 37 and 38 thereby securing both cans 23 and 24 to the clip 21and preventing their separation.

While the notches 42 are shown in Fig. 6 exactly fitting the can beads28, so that the clip 21 will firmly grasp the can beads and hold thecans 23 and 24 rigidly together, in actual practice the beads 28 varyconsiderably in their cross-sectional dimensions and consequently thefit between the notches and the can beads is not always as close as thatshown in Fig. 6. Nevertheless, the clip 21 will still dependably holdthe cans 23 and 24 together. In fact a certain amount of loosenessbetween the clip and the beads 28 may be desirable in many instances,since it allows the cans to be similarly oriented for display purposesafter they have been fastened together.

It should be pointed out that although in the above description the clip21 is described as having two tabs 39 and 41 both of which are used toclamp the cans 23 and 24 together, it is within the scope of the presentinvention to provide a clip with but one clamping tab rather than two.While such a clip will naturally not hold a pair of cans together asrigidly as will the clip 21, wherein the tabs 39 and 41 cooperate toprevent tilting of the cans relative to each other, nevertheless a clipwith but one clamping tab will satisfactorily fasten two cans together.In addition, it may also be noted that a clip of the type hereindescribed with either one or two tabs when applied only to the top endof a pair of cans will satisfactorily hold them together so that theymay be picked up as a unit by grasping only one can. However, if a oneor two tab clip is installed at both the top and the bottom end of apair of cans, as shown in Fig. 4, an extremely rigid and stable unit isthereby attained, which may be very roughly handled without danger ofthe cans separat- It will now be readily appreciated that the presentclip may be used to fasten laterally adjacent cans together in almostany conceivable arrangement such as: in a straight line, in a nest ofthree or more, or in a polygon. Thus a wide variety of consumercarriable can bundles may be made, thereby enabling the exact number ofcans required by the customer to be supplied in a neat and convenientlyhandled bundle. As the clips are easily applied either by machine or byhand, can bundles of various sizes may be made up quickly at the factoryor other distribution points with the aid of machinery before displayingthem for retail sale, or the cans may be displayed in bulk and thecustomer supplied with clips and allowed to fasten together the numberof cans he desires. The clips 21 may be readily removed from the canswithout the aid of a tool by merely grasping the outer tab portions 51(Figs. 3 and 6) and bending the tabs 39 and 41 outwardly, therebyremoving the shoulders 43 from contact with the beads 28. The clips maythen be lifted from the can beads 28, and since said clips arerelatively inexpensive they may then be discarded.

The modified clip 71 disclosed in Figs. 7 to 13, inclusive, is adaptedto fasten together four beaded cans 72, 73, 74 and 75 (Figs. 8 and 12)in a nested arrangement, and is preferably formed from a blank 76 (Fig.7) of thin, stiff, deformable material, such as cold rolled steel. Theblank 76 is symmetrical, having a roughly square Web portion 77 withconcavely curved, protruding side flanges 81 and tabs 86 projecting fromeach of its four corners. The modified clip 71 is fashioned from theblank 76 by bending each of the protruding flanges 81 down along thecurved dotted lines 87 until they are at approximately right angles withthe web 77, and by bending each of the tabs 86 in two places so that theouter portion 88 of the tabs 86 is bent down approximately 45 degreesalong the dotted line 89 and the inner portion 91 of the tabs is bentdownwardly and then inwardly along the dotted line 92 until the outertab portion 83 is almost in contact with the under side of the web 77,as shown in Fig. 10. Each of the clip flanges 81 (Fig. 8) is bowed intoward the center of the web 77 and each lateral edge of the tabs 86(Fig. 7) is provided adjacent the web '77 with a notch 94 whichfurnishes an arcuate shoulder 96 spaced from the side flanges 81. Theweb 77 has a hole 97 (Fig. 8) punched therein near each of its fourcorners, said holes 97 being arranged to overlie the bend line 89 of thetabs 86 when they are bent beneath the web 77, as is shown in Fig. 10.

As mentioned above, the clip '71 is adapted to fasten together a nest offour cans, i.e., a group of four laterally adjacent cans so arrangedthat each can is tangent to two other cans and a generallycross-sectionally square space is formed between the cans, see Figs. 8and 12. To apply the clip 71 to such a nest of cans it is first placedover the approximately square space formed between the cans 72, 73, 74and 75 (Figs. 8 and 10) with the curved flanges 81 contacting andclosely overlying the similarly curved inner perpihery of the beads 28on the cans adjacent to them. The placing of the clip 71 in thisposition is readily accomplished since at the time of such placement thetabs 86 are bent inwardly beneath the web 77 (Fig. 10) where they do notcontact with the can beads 28. j

The second and final step in the application of the clip 71 consists inbending the tabs 86 downwardly and outwardly between the converging bodyportions 26 of the cans 72, 73, 74 and 75 until the inner portion 91 ofsaid tabs is substantially perpendicular with the web '77 (Fig. 11).This operation is conveniently performed either manually or mechanicallyby the use of a clencher 101 (Fig. 13). The clencher 101 comprises asquare plate 1&2 to one side of which an actuating member 103, only partof which is shown, is centrally attached. Four pins 104 extend normallyfrom the opposite side of the plate 102 and are so arranged thereon thatthe clencher 101 may be placed above the clip 71 with the pins 104extending through the holes 97 in said clip and resting on the inwardlybent tabs 86, as shown in Fig. 10. Movement of the clencher 101 fromthis position toward the nest of cans will quickly turn down the innertab portion 91 into a position perpendicular with the web 77, as shownin Fig. 11, in much the same manner described in connection with thedepression of the tabs 39 and 41 of the clip 21 (Fig. 5).

The manner in which the tabs 86 of the clip 71 clamp the can heads 28against the flanges 81 (see Fig. 9) is identical with that previouslydescribed for the tabs 39 and 41 of the clip 21 (see Fig. 6) andconsequently a detailed explanation thereof will not be repeated.However, it is desired to point out that, as in the case of the clip 21,the clip 71 may be formed so that the notches 94 (Fig. 9) are largerthan the can beads 28 without affecting the ability of the clip tosecurely fasten the cans '72, 73, 74 and 75 together.

ea -W Although a clip 71 when applied to only the top end of a nest offour cans will satisfactorily hold the nest together so that they may bepicked up as a unit by grasping one or more cans, a more rigid unit isobtained by applying another clip 71 at the bottom end of the nest, asshown in Fig. 12. The clips 71 are easily removed from the cans 72, 73,74 and 75 by prying them off with any of the common pointed householdimplements, such as a knife, ice pick, beer can opener, and the like.

Although the embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawingsand described herein are all specifically adapted for fastening togethercylindrical metal cans, it is apparent that the present invention isequally adaptable to the joining of other articles which are neithercylindrical nor made of metal, such as square cross-sectioned, cardboardcontainers and the like so long as they are provided with a bead orsimilar protuberance which may be grasped by the clip. Naturally, theconfiguration of the web, flanges and tabs of the clips to be applied todifferently shaped articles must conform to the contour of the beads ofthe various articles.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the present invention,it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be madein the details thereof without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A holding clip formed from a single piece of deformable material forremovably fastening together a plurality of adjacently disposedcylindrical cans each having an outwardly extending peripheral beadthereon, comprising a substantially flat web for engaging the uppersurfaces of said beads, said web having a plurality of spaced curvedflanges projecting downwardly atan angle from the side edges thereof forrespectively engaging the inner surfaces of the beads on said cans, aplurality of tabs each formed integrally with and in the plane of saidweb between adjacent ends of adjacent flanges, and said tabs havingtransversely spaced notches on opposite sides thereof, said notches eachmerging at one end thereof into the longitudinal end of one of saidadjacent flanges, and forming at its other end an outwardly extendingshoulder facing said flange end, said tabs respectively being bendableout of the plane of said web into positions substantially normal theretoto engage said notches over the beads on adjacent cans with saidshoulders engaged beneath the beads, whereby to hold said clip inlocking engagement with said cans.

2. A holding clip formed from a single piece of deformable material forremovably fastening together as a unit a plurality of adjacentlydisposed cylindrical cans each having an outwardly extending peripheralhead thereon, comprising a substantially fiat elongated web for engaging the upper surfaces of said beads, said web having spacedoppositely curved flanges projecting downwardly at an angle from theopposite side edges thereof for respectively engaging the inner surfacesof said beads on adjacent cans, tabs formed integrally with and in theplane of said web between adjacent ends of said flanges, and said tabshaving transversely spaced notches on opposite sides thereof, saidnotches respectively merging into the longitudinal outer ends of saidoppositely curved flanges and forming outwardly extending shouldersfacing 7 said flanges, said tabs being bendable downwardly transverselyof said web to dispose said shoulders out of the plane of the web withthe ends of the flanges engaged against the inner surfaces and saidshoulders engaged beneath the outer surfaces of the beads on a pluralityof said adjacently disposed cans in looking engagement there with.

3. A clip formed from a single piece of material for fastening togetherarticles each having a peripheral bead, comprising a web having anaperture therethrough, spaced bead-engaging means extending from saidweb and adapted to contact the inner surfaces of the beads on adjacentarticles, and a bendable tab depending from said web between adjacentones of said bead-engaging means in spaced relation thereto and disposedin retracted reversely bent position underlying said aperture, said tabbeing projectable from retracted position into engagement with the outersurfaces of the beads on adjacent articles by a clenching tool insertedthrough the aperture in the web.

4. A clip for fastening together a plurality of articles havingperipheral beads arranged in a closed polygonal pattern with a centralspace between the articles, said clip comprising a web having aplurality of bead-engaging means extending therefrom for contact withthe inner surface of the beads on said articles, and a plurality ofdeformable tabs extending from the margin of the web and adapted toengage the lower surface of the beads on said articles to lock said clipto each article, said web having an aperture adjacent each tab toreceive a clenching tool for deforming the tabs into a bead-underlyingposition during the application of the clip to the articles.

5. A clip for fastening together a plurality of articles havingperipheral beads arranged in a closed polygonal pattern with a centralspace between the articles, said clip comprising a web provided with aplurality of apertures, said web having a plurality of bead-engagingmeans depending therefrom for contact with the inner surface of thebeads on said articles when the web is placed over the beads at saidcentral space, and a plurality of tabs extending from the web andunderlying the apertures in the web, said tabs being bendable intoengagement with the outer surface of the beads on adjacent articles uponengagement by a clenching tool inserted through the apertures in theweb.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS603,455 Pinney May 3, 1898 1,476,756 Junkers Dec. 11, 1923 1,516,232Kratzer Nov. 18, 1924 1,567,387 Rode Dec. 29, 1925 1,800,109 Selig Apr.7, 1931 2,090,477 Graham Aug. 17, 1937 2,135,341 Jackson Nov. 1, 19382,144,804 Irwin Jan. 24, 1939 2,212,476 Kielberg Aug. 20, 1940 2,285,801Burner June 9, 1942 2,384,112 Meyer Sept. 4, 1945 2,440,902 Lutey May.4,1948 2,566,804 Flamme Sept. 4, 1951 2,615,220 Imparato Oct. 28, 19522,637,475 Gialanella May 5, 1953 2,646,911 Holmberg July 28, 19532,702,641 Arthur Feb. 22, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,378 Great BritainJuly 6, 1922

